Florida Attorney General Charlie Crist leads Florida Chief Financial Officer Tom
Gallagher 57 - 32 percent among likely Republican voters in the gubernatorial primary,
while state Sen. Rod Smith has narrowed the gap against U.S. Rep. Jim Davis in the
Democratic contest, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today.

Crist's margin among voters likely to cast ballots in the September 5 primary is
similar to his 55 - 32 lead in the July 26 poll by the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-
ack) University poll.

But on the Democratic side, Davis' lead over Smith has shrunk dramatically as the
campaign enters the home stretch. Davis, who led Smith among likely Democratic primary
voters 47 - 19 percent July 26 now leads 43 - 32 percent.

"It will take a political storm a lot bigger than Ernesto to give Gallagher much
chance to defeat Crist in the GOP primary," said Peter Brown, assistant director of the
Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. "It would be hard to think of a candidate who has
blown that large a lead with so little time remaining until the actual voting.

"The Democratic race, on the other hand, is by no means over. Certainly a candidate
would prefer to be 11 points ahead as is Davis, with less than a week before the primary.
But Smith's ability to cut Davis' lead so sharply has to make the Congressman nervous."

Crist's lead in the Republican race is correlated by the fact that those likely to vote
in the primary have a better impression of him than they do of Gallagher.

Fifty-one percent have a favorable impression of Crist, compared to only 11 percent
who view him unfavorably. By comparison, 32 percent view Gallagher favorably, with 17
percent unfavorable.

Only 18 percent of Crist voters, compared to 27 percent of Gallagher supporters, say
they might change their mind before going to the polls Tuesday.
On the Democratic side, only about a third of voters for both men say they might
change their mind. Smith's run comes after both men began airing television commercials
to introduce themselves to those who did not know them.

But after their televised debates and barrages of television commercials, both men
have improved their standing without driving up their negative ratings. Davis is now
viewed favorably by 40 percent and unfavorably by just 2 percent; Smith scores 33 percent
favorable and 7 percent unfavorable. In both cases, 41 or 42 percent of likely Democratic
primary voters say they don't know enough to form an opinion of the candidates.

From August 23 - 28, Quinnipiac University surveyed 317 Florida likely
Republican primary voters, with a margin of error of +/- 5.5 percentage points, and 312
likely Democratic primary voters, with a margin of error of +/- 5.6 percentage points.

The Quinnipiac University Poll, directed by Douglas Schwartz, Ph.D., conducts
public opinion surveys in Florida, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and
the nation as a public service and for research.
For additional data-www.quinnipiac.edu and quicklinks

1. (If registered democrat) If the 2006 Democratic primary for governor were
being held today and the candidates were Jim Davis and Rod Smith, for whom would
you vote? (If undecided q1) As of today, do you lean more toward Davis or Smith?
This table includes Leaners.

LIKELY DEMOCRATIC
PRIMARY VOTERS

Davis 43%
Smith 32
SMONE ELSE(VOL) 1
WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) -
DK/NA 24

TREND: (If registered Democrat) If the 2006 Democratic primary for governor were
being held today and the candidates were Jim Davis and Rod Smith, for whom would
you vote? (If undecided) As of today, do you lean more toward Davis or Smith?
This table includes Leaners.

LIKELY DEMOCRATIC
PRIMARY VOTERS
Aug 30 Jul 26
2006 2006

Davis 43 47
Smith 32 19
SMONE ELSE 1 -
WLDN'T VOTE - -
DK/NA 24 33

1a. (If candidate choice q1) Is your mind made up, or do you think you might
change your mind before the primary?

4. (If registered Republican) If the 2006 Republican primary for governor were
being held today and the candidates were Charlie Crist and Tom Gallagher, for
whom would you vote? (If undecided q4) As of today, do you lean more toward
Crist or Gallagher? This table includes Leaners.

LIKELY REPUBLICAN
PRIMARY VOTERS

Crist 57%
Gallagher 32
SMONE ELSE(VOL) -
WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) -
DK/NA 12

TREND: (If registered Republican) If the 2006 Republican primary for Governor
were being held today and the candidates were Charlie Crist and Tom Gallagher,
for whom would you vote? (If undecided) As of today, do you lean more toward
Crist or Gallagher? *This table includes Leaners